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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Holocaust was the systemic annihilation of six
3million Jews and millions of other victims by the Nazis in the
4Second World War; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Illinois is the home to many Holocaust survivors
6and their families; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 1990, Illinois was one of the first states in
8the nation to require education on the Holocaust in public
9schools; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The U.S. Millennial Holocaust Knowledge and
11Awareness Survey, released in September of 2020, demonstrated
12that 59 percent of Illinoisans did not know that six million
13Jews were murdered in the Holocaust and that 54 percent of
14Illinois respondents could not name a single concentration camp
15or ghetto; and
 
16    WHEREAS, According to the Federal Bureau of
17Investigation's 2019 Hate Crimes Statistics Report, hate
18crimes rose to their highest in a decade with a record breaking
1951 fatal attacks; there were 953 reports of anti-Jewish hate
20crimes in 2019; this is a 14% increase from the previous year;
21and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Jewish students on college campuses in Illinois
2have endured an unrelenting campaign of anti-Semitic
3harassment, which led to an investigation by the United States
4Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights into the
5University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for its response to
6such acts on campus; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Teaching the lessons of the Holocaust leads to an
8understanding of the ramifications of prejudice and racism,
9encourages tolerance of diversity, and nurtures the protection
10of democratic values and institutions; and
 
11    WHEREAS, On January 27, 1945, the Nazi Concentration and
12Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by the
13Allied troops; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The United Nations General Assembly designated
15January 27 as an annual International Day of Commemoration in
16memory of the victims of the Holocaust; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The United Nations urges its members to develop
18educational programs to help prevent future genocides; and
 
19    WHEREAS, A Holocaust Education Week can be used to spur
20discussion in schools, communities, and civic organizations

 

 

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1throughout Illinois about hate, discrimination, and prejudice
2and hopefully reduce the number of hate crimes in the State;
3therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
5HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6we commend the educators who instruct their students on this
7important topic each year during Holocaust Education Week in
8the State of Illinois; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we encourage school districts and local
10residents to support this week and participate in informed
11educational events planned to commemorate the occasion.